Eighteen Plays in Four Days

June 13th, 2010Blog1 comment

Aaron, my friend and the literary manager at Chicago’s Victory Gardens Theater, called me on Friday with a request: “Michael, we’ve narrowed down the twelve finalist plays for this year’s Ignition Festival and we were wondering if you could read them all to help us narrow it down to the final selections.” I can’t say no to Aaron, so I said yes. Sure. Send them to me.

“By the way, we need your thoughts by this Wednesday.”

Oh. Well, I can’t say no to Aaron.

I coincidentally received this call while I was in one of the rehearsal rooms at Center Theatre Group getting ready to hear six new play readings over the course of the weekend.

So in total, I’d be exposed to eighteen new plays in just four days. I think this is the most new work I’ve ever seen in such a short period of time. It’s kind of insane, but kind of neat too.

When I first start reading any script, there are two things I specifically look for. The first thing is whether there is a meaning inherent in the very first few moments of the script — does the very beginning of the script allude to something greater? Do they set a tone? Is there a thesis statement there? An important question? I’m always interested in what the writer wishes to show me first. I’m always looking for a meaning in that very first moment.

The true meaning of the story doesn’t have to appear right away, but you know me — I’m an impatient guy and I like to at least see seeds sprouting on page one.

The second thing is the hook. And by that I mean a hook that I can undeniably feel. This may be the first big, true belly laugh of the script. It may be something incredibly fascinating that draws me in, or something that a character says that is totally seductive or absolutely original. It may be a visual or a word, or a something that grabs an emotional chord in me. The hook lets me know that I should definitely keep on reading — that this story is for me.

The sooner that hook appears, the better. The best is when the hook shows up on page one. The worst is when it never shows up — and unfortunately, most of the scripts I read never have that hook. It’s disappointing. Every time it happens, it feels like a missed opportunity.

So it’s Sunday night now and I’ve seen all six play readings at CTG — I loved them all. During the breaks over the weekend I read three out of the 12 scripts that Aaron sent me — so I have nine plays to go.

I’ve dropped the ones I have left onto my iPad. There’s a tremendous benefit to not having to carry nine printed scripts around in your bag. Unfortunately there’s a tremendous disadvantage to having a script reading device that is also capable of viewing Facebook and playing Frotz. But I guess I’ve got to have a carrot to break up the work.

Nine plays left to read. Gotta keep on crackin.